Court ruling threatens NCB's powers

By Our Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI, DEC. 14. Hundreds of cases of Narcotic Control Bureau (NCB) are in danger being thrown out by courts across the country following a Delhi High Court ruling recently that the bureau does not have the power to search, seize and make arrest without warrant or authorisation in drug smuggling cases.

The NCB was created by a Union Government notification in 1986. Its powers were also mentioned in the notification.

Mr. Justice Dalveer Bhandari of the High Court held that the order bringing NCB into existence did not confer on it the power to search and arrest drug traffickers and seize contraband.

``Section 41 (2) of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS) says that the Central Government or the State Government can only empower gazetted officers of the Department of Central Excise, Narcotics, Customs, Revenue Intelligence, or any other department of the Central Government or of the Border Security Force to search, seize and make arrest in drug smuggling cases, NCB could not be such authority since it came into existence by a notification to perform those functions as enumerated in it,'' the judge said.

Counsel for NCB argued that the Bureau, being a department of the Government, could be empowered under Section 41 (2), 42, 53 and 67 of the Act, to enter, search, seize and arrest without warrant or authorisation.

To show to the court that NCB was a Government department, the Additional Solicitor-General placed before it a letter appointing him counsel to argue the case. But the Judge said that a letter could not make NCB a Government department.

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